The documents below provide information about the removal of trees and the health and safety of the neighborhood surrounding Parcels 12 and 13 along Civic Center Drive. Addition information is in the FAQ section.

Latest Information:

The City’s contractor employed to rebuild the N. Santa Monica Boulevard (NSMB) roadway will begin working along the south side of the road on Oct. 12, 2017 in the area of Parcels 12 and 13. The contractor will start sheering the tree stumps (no grinding) along the northern side of Parcels 12 and 13 in preparation for the scheduled curb, gutter and roadway removal and replacement. Once the stumps are sheared using a saw, an excavator tractor will later be utilized to remove the sheared portion of the stumps closest to the roadway. The contractor does not anticipate that stump sheering will disturb the soil or generate any measurable amount of dust. The curb, gutter and roadway removal will start next Oct. 16, 2017 along the south side of NSMB including the south side of the Parcel 13 island.

The City’s environmental consultant, Lindmark Engineering will be performing air monitoring activities to ensure the continued health, safety and welfare of the community.

The State Department of Toxic Substances Control has been notified and given its approval for this scope of work.

On Nov. 21 and 22, 2015 trees were removed from Parcels 12 &13 that raised concerns in the community about public health and the loss of vegetation and green screen. (Parcels 12 & 13 Arborist Report) Soils in Parcels 12 & 13 have long been known to contain above naturally occurring levels of arsenic from prior use as a railroad right-of-way.

The City’s primary concern is the health of this community and the City has taken numerous steps to determine the level of risk from the soils on the parcels and the tree removal, and to mitigate that risk. To accomplish this the City has retained consultants who have tested the air and conducted soils testing both on and off the property.

Test results taken soon after the removal of the trees in 2015 indicate that there was no risk to the community from being in the vicinity of Parcels 12 and 13. In addition, there was no evidence that suggests that contaminated dust migrated outside of the parcels immediately following the removal of trees. Results of the 2015 testing are in the documents listed below.

The City will continue to work closely with the State’s Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) to protect the public health and ensure that no contaminated soil escapes from the properties. The DTSC is the agency charged with oversight of investigation and remediation on the parcels. The parcels have been sprayed with an approved compound designed to suppress dust and bind the surface soils.

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